wrestling / Video Reviews
Hall’s WCW Great American Bash 1996 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Great American Bash 1996
Date: June 16, 1996
Location: Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 9,000
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes
Someone pointed out that my original review of this show was, uh, horrible, so it’s worth another look. It’s a weird time for WCW as the Outsiders (who don’t have names at this point) have shown up in the last few weeks and are easily the biggest story in the wrestling world. This is the first pay per view since their debut so things could be getting even bigger soon. As for the wrestling, the Giant is defending the World Title against Lex Luger, which is only so interesting. Let’s get to it.
The opening video, features a rather nervous Bobby Heenan, who says that his team (Ric Flair/Arn Anderson) is ready for Randy Savage’s team (Kevin Greene/Steve McMichael) and Savage will not get his hands on him. Both teams are ready to win, as are both Lex Luger and the Giant.
We get the National Anthem, with an unnamed Craig Pittman presenting the flag.
Commentary welcomes us to the show and go over the big matches. We also talk about the passing of Dick Murdoch, Dusty Rhodes’ former partner so he gets in a quick tribute.
Fire And Ice vs. Steiner Brothers
That would be Scott Norton/Ice Train and there must be a winner. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Scott Norton as “Norton” and Scott Steiner as “Scott”. Train and Scott start things off with Train actually hiptossing him out of the corner and…kind of dancing? I think? A running shoulder puts Scott down but he grabs a hiptoss of his own, followed by one to an invading Norton.
Rick helps clear the ring and they get to do their pose. It’s off to Norton, who powers Rick into the corner for some forearms to the chest. Norton misses a charge though and Rick hits him in the face, followed by the belly to belly for two. Scott comes in and gets crushed by a Samoan drop, allowing Train to hit a belly to belly for his own near fall. Train charges into a boot in the corner though and there’s the spinning belly to belly to put him down for a change.
Scott tries to go up…and Norton catches him (geez) for two off a powerslam. Scott’s shoulder is banged up so Train grabs a chinlock, which is why you probably don’t remember much from Train’s career. Norton comes in for a Fujiwara armbar, with Rick making the save. That’s enough for Rick to come in as everything breaks down, with Rick backdropping Train.
A splash gets two on Rick but Scott makes the save. Train gets crotched on top, where he comes off with an ax handle to Rick. Scott breaks that up and the Steiner Bulldog connects…for two as Train makes the save. The Frankensteiner goes HORRIBLY wrong (looking like Norton spinebusters Scott) but gets the pin at 10:29, even as Train covers Rick for two at the same time.
Rating: B-. This was a hard one to rate as it was a heck of a power match but the ending looked all kinds of messed up. The Frankensteiner in particular was a disaster and I’m not sure what the point of the double pin was supposed to be. Either way, there was some good stuff here as the Steiners know exactly how to do this kind of match and Fire And Ice were both ready. Give it a better finish and it’s a much better match.
Jimmy Hart is with Kevin Sullivan (in by FAR the best shape I’ve ever seen him in), who is ready to destroy Chris Benoit in their Falls Count Anywhere match, which he dedicates to Arn Anderson.
US Title: Konnan vs. El Gato
Gato is challenging and is better known as Pat Tanaka under a mask. They trade arm control to start with Gato sending him into the corner (the mask does a TERRIBLE job of hiding Gato’s face). Back up and a hard running clothesline drops Gato for a ridiculously delayed (Dusty: “Too late.”) cover. They trade some leapfrogs until Gato hits a nice superkick for two and it’s off to a double arm crank in a crucifix (commentary has no idea what to call it).
Konnan gets the rope but charges into a sitout powerbomb for two. That’s shrugged off and Konnan ties up the legs, with Dusty not being sure whose legs are where. With that broken up, Gato sends him to the floor where Konnan cuts off a dive. They have absolutely no chemistry here. Konnan is back up with a sunset bomb to the floor, followed by an Alabama slam out of the corner into a jackknife rollup for the pin at 6:05.
Rating: D+. The ending and the sunset bomb looked ok, but this was rather bad in parts. It felt like they were trying to have two different matches and the styles didn’t mesh in the slightest. At the same time, having the rather easily recognizable Tanaka in a Tiger Mask cosplay didn’t make much sense. Either get an actual luchador or just have Tanaka get the title shot. Otherwise it’s just weirdly distracting.
Sting is asked about his issues with Lord Steven (William) Regal and Regal’s levels of being “prissy”. This leads to some not so subtle jokes before Sting goes into a rant about how we make Americans tougher here. Sting then has to stop himself from saying something that he knows he’ll regret (I’m guessing it’s “prissy” related), with Gene Okerlund having to get him going again. Either way, Sting says he’ll win. I’d rather he get a comb, as his hair was kind of a mess here.
Lord Of The Ring: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Marcus Bagwell
This is the ring that Page won for winning Battlebowl and was only loosely official at best. Before the match, Page promises to make everyone forget about CARL Ripken. Bagwell charges in and Page runs to the floor, only for Bagwell to look away, allowing Page to jump him from behind (Bagwell could be rather dumb at times). Bagwell fights back and knocks Page over the barricade, followed by a crossbody for two back inside.
Some arm cranking doesn’t get Bagwell very far so he hits a running forearm. A dropkick sends Page outside but he manages to crotch Bagwell on top. Back in and Page elbows him in the face, followed by a backbreaker for two. The abdominal stretch goes on to keep Bagwell in trouble but Page gets caught using the ropes for the break. Bagwell fights back with a clothesline but runs into an elbow in the corner for two. Page blocks the fisherman’s suplex and hits the Diamond Cutter for the win at 9:40.
Rating: D+. You could see Page’s skills growing in a hurry at this point, with the Diamond Cutter looking awesome. That being said, Bagwell was another level of boring here as he had the most generic offense and did nothing to suggest he was going to win. Very dull match here, with Page not being the issue.
The Giant, with Jimmy Hart, is ready for Lex Luger and will show him real torture.
Cruiserweight Title: Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Mysterio is challenging and this is his WCW debut. They start slowly with neither being able to get very far so Malenko elbows him in the face and spins around into an armdrag to send Malenko outside. Back up and a triangle dropkick sends Malenko outside again as he can’t figure Mysterio out to start. Malenko gets back inside and rolls out of a headscissors, allowing him to catapult Mysterio over the top to the floor.
Mysterio gets back inside this time and Malenko snaps the arm, followed by a hammerlock slam. A knee drop on the arm and an armbar have Mysterio in trouble so he makes the rope and heads outside. This time Malenko sends the arm into the barricade and then kicks said arm back inside. The armbar goes on again, followed by a hammerlock northern lights suplex as Malenko mixes things up rather well. A surfboard into a rollup gives Malenko two and it’s off to a Kimura.
Malenko’s belly to back suplex gets a delayed two but Mysterio sends him outside. The big dive connects as the bad arm doesn’t stop the high flying. Back in and a springboard missile dropkick gives Mysterio two, which Dusty says has the fans standing everywhere. The rather bored looking crowd is clearly sitting but oh well. What would become known as the West Coast Pop gives Mysterio two and he reverses Malenko’s super gutbuster into a hurricanrana. Mysterio tries another hurricanrana but Malenko reverses into a powerbomb and puts his feet on the ropes to retain at 17:49.
Rating: B. Gah this was a weird one as the majority of the match was spent with the arm work but then everything picked up once Mysterio made his comeback. That was showing the flashes of greatness that made Mysterio a star, but you would think he’d get to do more than a few minutes in a match this long. If you trim some of the arm work out and let Mysterio fly around a bit more, it’s that much better.
Post match the fans do give them a standing ovation so they definitely got the idea.
Lex Luger is here physically but mentally he’s already in the ring against the Giant. He’s not going to shout and scream here because he’ll be ready to face the Giant when he gets out there. Luger hopes Giant thinks he’s invincible because it means he’ll make mistakes.
Big Bubba vs. John Tenta
Bubba has Jimmy Hart with him and this is a grudge match after Bubba shaved half of Tenta’s head. Bubba tries to slug away to start but gets knocked down into the corner with straight power. Tenta gets simple by sitting down on him in the corner but Hart slips in a foreign object for the cheap shot.
The running crotch attack on the ropes connects, as does the sliding uppercut. Things slow down with Bubba dropping a knee and then kneeing Tenta down again. Some knees to the knee keep Tenta in trouble and a belly to back suplex drops him again. Bubba goes up but dives into a powerslam (with Tenta holding him up for a bit first) for the pin at 5:32.
Rating: D. Some of the power moves were cool to see but this is a good example of the stuff that WCW needed to get away from at this point. In no way does this feel like it belongs on pay per view in 1996 as this could have been on Saturday Night for all the importance it brought. It’s not even a terrible match, but it doesn’t feel important in the slightest and that’s a great way to kill a crowd.
Post match Hart, who had his back to the cover and didn’t see Tenta catch him, gets inside with the scissors. Bubba has to save him from a haircut…but Tenta cuts Bubba’s beard off to set up a rematch next month.
Steve McMichael and Kevin Greene, with their wives, are ready for violence tonight. Greene is a heck of a football player but he might have missed his calling as a wrestler as he’s rather awesome at this stuff. Randy Savage comes in for a football themed pep talk.
Chris Benoit vs. Taskmaster
Falls Count Anywhere, meaning hardcore (before that was a thing) and these two HATE each other. The fight starts in the aisle with Sullivan chopping against the barricade and they go to the steps for the opening bell. The fight goes straight into the crowd (as it should) and they trade headbutts and right hands, with Sullivan actually getting the better of things (Dusty is LOVING this).
They head into the men’s room with Sullivan slamming a door onto Benoit’s head a few times as fans come in to watch (including one holding a baby). Another hard slam on the door has Benoit in a lot of trouble but he fights back over a toilet. Sullivan gets a door slammed on his arm as there are dozens of fans watching (including a woman, which has Dusty losing it). A trashcan has Benoit staggering out of the men’s room but he hits Sullivan in the head with it for a breather. They punch the fire out of each other until Sullivan THROWS HIM DOWN THE STEPS.
A low blow keeps Benoit in trouble and Sullivan crotching him on the barricade. Benoit fights back by sending him into the barricade and now it’s time for a table. Said table is thrown into Sullivan, who then throws Benoit into the table but misses a charge of his own. The table is laid across the top rope and they both go up, with Benoit hitting a NASTY superplex to bring him down for the pin at 9:58.
Rating: A-. There were longer and more violent matches, but there was an intensity to this that you cannot duplicate. These guys could not stand one another and some of those shots were absolutely brutal. I had a great time with this before and it more than holds up as a physical, violent brawl.
Post match Benoit (as fired up as I’ve ever seen him) goes after Sullivan again until Arn Anderson (who had been teasing siding with Sullivan) comes out to pull Benoit off. As you might expect, Anderson then jumps Sullivan and the Horsemen beat the fire out of him (with the fans going NUTS) until the Dungeon Of Doom chase them off.
In the back, Anderson and the rest of the team officially induct Benoit into the team (saying he “earned his stripes”), serving as Brian Pillman’s replacement. Benoit was pretty much a perfect fit from the team in the ring. The war with the Dungeon Of Doom is on. Benoit is ready to take Sullivan out again and Ric Flair says look at what the Horsemen have, including Bobby Heenan as a coach. Heenan sounds absolutely terrified of Randy Savage and….well, he probably should be.
Sting vs. Lord Steven Regal
Sting slugs away to start but Regal wrestles him to the ground and drops a knee. A forearm to the chest has Sting down as commentary talks about Bruno Sammartino coming in as a guest referee. Sting fights up but Regal again wins with the wrestling as we finally get an explanation for why they’re fighting: Regal was mad about not getting a title shot and Sting didn’t want to hear it.
A full nelson has Sting in more trouble but he gets out and tries a sunset flip. Regal has to fight to block it (and looks to threaten the referee at the same time) but gets pulled down for two. That doesn’t work for Regal, who ties him up in something like an abdominal stretch on the mat. Some uppercuts keep Sting in trouble and Regal insults America as he hits him in the face.
Sting suplexes his way to freedom (AMERICAN freedom) and Regal’s panicked face is great. Regal grinds away with a headlock and hits him in the face a few more times, as he would be known to do. Sting fights up and actually goes with the abdominal stretch of his own (showing a rare paintless face as Regal has punched it off). Regal gets out and pulls him into a headscissors before cranking on the arm.
Sting nips up and shrugs off some forearms, only to get caught in a double underhook. They fight up top and Regal gets a butterfly superplex (without much rotation) for two and the STF goes on. That’s broken up as well and Sting unloads in the corner but Regal gets the knees up to block the Stinger Splash (Has anyone else ever done that?). Sting shrugs that off and gets the Scorpion Deathlock for the win (and a tap, which was not something you saw often in 1996) at 16:28.
Rating: B. This was a rather good match as Regal was an outstanding villain, who had the fans (including me) wanting to see Sting fight back and beat the daylights out of him. Stuff like rubbing the paint off of Sting’s face was such a great villain move and Regal’s facials were outstanding, as he realized he was in trouble and showed it off. Really good match here, with Regal deserving a lot of the credit.
Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Kevin Greene/Steve McMichael
This is wrestling vs. football and the Horsemen, coached by Bobby Heenan, have Woman and Miss Elizabeth with them. Meanwhile, Randy Savage, who has been feuding with Flair (for the better part of ever) is with the football players. McMichael and Anderson start things off, with Flair strutting on the apron. Anderson dodges away from him and does some jumping jacks to bring on the mind games.
That’s broken up with pure power before Anderson charges into the vicinity of a boot in the corner. McMichael’s middle rope shoulder drops Anderson again and he’s looking a bit shaken up. Greene comes in and the double stomp has Anderson in trouble, allowing Savage to get in a shot of his own. Heenan runs away in terror and we settle down to Greene vs. Flair, the latter of whom backs away for a strut. Greene gets down in a three point stance so Flair…kicks him in the head. Yeah that works.
A flying shoulder out of the corner works a bit better for Greene and another sends Anderson outside, where he needs to think twice about this. Flair teases leaving and gets pulled back in by Savage, meaning he has to face McMichael. A shoulder drops the WOOing Flair and it works so well that McMichael does it again. Flair gets knocked into the corner and bealed out (as he told McMichael to do) before going up top for…oh you know by this point.
McMichael even grabs a figure Four and Greene does the same to Anderson, leaving Woman and Elizabeth to chase the NFL wives (including Debra) off. The distraction lets Anderson knock McMichael outside, where Heenan even gets in a cheap shot, which leaves him alone between Savage and Greene. Back in and Anderson chokes on the rope, followed by a double suplex for two. A clothesline out of the corner gives McMichael a breather and he sends Flair into Anderson.
The big tag brings in Greene to clean house, including some kind of brutal slams. Flair is knocked to the apron for a big boot from McMichael but Anderson goes after Greene’s leg to take him down. Anderson and Flair take turns on the leg but Greene reverses a Figure Four attempt into a small package for two. Flair goes right back after the knee though and NOW the Figure Four goes on, with Anderson cheating from the apron (Heenan approves).
That’s enough to bring Savage to go after Savage, which draws out Benoit to brawl with Savage (dang what a feud that could have been). The Figure Four is still on as Elizabeth and Woman come back out with Debra (now in a different outfit), complete with a briefcase. Debra takes the briefcase to McMichael, who finds a Horsemen shirt and a lot of money. After checking to make sure the money is real (that’s great), McMichael blasts Greene with the case and Flair gets the pin at 20:51 (and congratulates Greene).
Rating: B+. This is on a sliding scale as McMichael and Greene weren’t wrestlers and were able to hang in there. They were kept doing what they could do (hard shoulders, tackles, slams etc) and that part went well. What REALLY made this work was the Horsemen, as Flair and Anderson knew exactly how to make these two look great. Stuff like looking terrified, feeding into their limited offense and playing things so basic until we got to the finish. I had a blast with this and it couldn’t have been done much better.
Post match the big beatdown is on and McMichael puts on the shirt before shaking hands with Flair. Of note: commentary had pointed out that McMichael had signed with the Packers after years with the Bears purely for the money. So it all makes sense.
And now, here’s Eric Bischoff for the real main event. In recent weeks, two (still unnamed) invaders (outsiders even) have shown up and said they wanted a war with WCW. They both come out and Bischoff gets to the point: WCW accepts the challenge and the match will take place at Bash At The Beach.
With that out of the way, Bischoff gets the other important point out of the way by asking if they work for the WWF (getting definitive NO’s from both, which was mainly to deal with potential legal issues as the WWF wasn’t happy with suggestions that they were still working there while invading). They want to know who is going to be on the WCW team but Bischoff says we’ll find out tomorrow on Nitro. That doesn’t work for them and Bischoff is punched in the ribs and powerbombed off the stage through a table. Commentary panics, while also confirming that Bischoff is actually an executive.
This was a huge angle, as it showed that these guys were VERY different than the usual goofy heels that Hogan had been dispatching. Prior to this, the big heels were people like the Taskmaster and the Dungeon of Doom. Yeah you had the Horsemen, but they were never going to do something like this. The second Hall came through the crowd a few weeks prior, everything changed and it was the hottest story in wrestling as a result. This ramped it up even more as now they’re actually getting physical. Absolutely awesome angle and it more than holds up.
Everyone freaks out and Bischoff is put on a stretcher as the main event starts, because that’s still a thing. I get the idea of the World Title going on last, but dang they should have ended on Bischoff being taken out as there was no topping that.
WCW World Title: The Giant vs. Lex Luger
Giant, with Jimmy Hart, is defending and Luger’s TV Title isn’t on the line. Luger strikes away to start and some clotheslines put him on the floor. Giant powers him back inside, where Luger jumps on his back for a sleeper. Hart tries to interfere so Sting (Luger’s Tag Team Title partner) runs in to cut him off and chase him to the back. Giant breaks it up and hits a backbreaker, with Luger’s back being bent over his knee.
That’s broken up and Luger tries a slam but Giant falls on top for two instead. Giant pounds away on the apron but Luger gets in a shot of his own to stagger him. The running clotheslines into the flying forearms have Giant rocked, followed by a chop block as Luger actually gets smart. Giant’s charge in the corner misses and Luger kicks away at the ribs before managing to Rack him. That lasts all of five seconds before Giant falls on Luger’s head, followed by the chokeslam to retain the title at 9:21.
Rating: C. Yeah this really didn’t work, as it was a completely dead match as Luger felt like nothing but a challenger of the month. It didn’t have any drama, but the bigger problem was what came earlier in the night. This show needed to end with the tag match or the Bischoff segment, as those things (among others) ran circles around this one.
We’re done in a hurry and roll credits.
Results
Steiner Brothers b. Fire And Ice – Frankensteiner to Norton
Konnan b. El Gato – Alabama Slam
Diamond Dallas Page b. Marcus Bagwell – Diamond Cutter
Dean Malenko b. Rey Mysterio Jr. – Powerbomb with feet on the ropes
John Tenta b. Big Bubba – Powerslam
Chris Benoit b. Taskmaster – Superplex from a table
Sting b. William Regal – Scorpion Deathlock
Ric Flair/Arn Anderson b. Steve McMichael/Kevin Greene – Briefcase to Greene’s head
The Giant b. Lex Luger – Chokeslam
